The Outer Limits is an American television series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1965. Similar in style to the earlier The Twilight Zone with more science fiction than fantasy stories, The Outer Limits is an anthology of discrete story episodes, sometimes with a plot twist at the end.

The series was revived in 1995, airing on Showtime from 1995–1999, then on Sci-Fi Channel from 1999 until its cancellation in 2002.

Series overview[ IntroductionEach show would begin with either a cold open or a preview clip, followed by narration by someone identifying himself as the Control Voice, which was played over visuals of an oscilloscope. The earlier and longer version of the narration ran as follows.

“ There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to... The Outer Limits.
— Opening narration – The Control Voice – 1960s ”

Later episodes used one of two shortened versions of this introduction. The first few episodes began simply with the title screen followed by the narration and no cold open or preview clip.

Production informationThe Outer Limits originally was broadcast from 1963 to 1965 on the U.S. television broadcasting network ABC; in total, 49 episodes. It was one of many series influenced by The Twilight Zone and Science Fiction Theatre, though it ultimately proved influential in its own right. In the un-aired pilot, the series was called Please Stand By, but ABC rejected that title. Series creator Leslie Stevens retitled it The Outer Limits. With a few changes, the pilot aired as the premiere episode, "The Galaxy Being".

Writers for The Outer Limits included creator Stevens and Joseph Stefano (screenwriter of Hitchcock's Psycho), who was the series' first-season producer and creative guiding force. Stefano wrote more episodes than any other writer for the show. Future Oscar winning screenwriter Robert Towne (Chinatown) would write "The Chameleon", which was also the final episode filmed for the first season. Two especially notable second-season episodes "Demon with a Glass Hand" and "Soldier" were written by Harlan Ellison, with the latter episode winning a Writers' Guild Award. The former was for several years the only episode of The Outer Limits available on laser-disc.

The first season combined science-fiction and horror, while the second season was more focused on 'hard' science-fiction stories, dropping the recurring "scary monster" motif of the first season. Each show in the first season was to have a monster or creature as a critical part of the story line. First-season writer and producer Joseph Stefano believed that this element was necessary to provide fear, suspense, or at least a center for plot development. This kind of story element became known as "the bear". This device was, however, mostly dropped in the second season when Stefano left. (Two first-season episodes without a 'bear' are "Forms of Things Unknown" and "Controlled Experiment" the first of which was shot in a dual format as SF for The Outer Limits and as a Thriller for a pilot for an unmade series The Unknown. Actor Barry Morse who starred in "Controlled Experiment" states that this episode also was made as a pilot for an unrealized science-fiction comedy series.[1] It is the only comic episode of The Outer Limits. Earlier Season 1 episodes with no 'bear' were "The Hundred Days of the Dragon" and "The Borderland" made before the 'bear' convention was established. Second season episodes with a 'bear' are "Keeper of the Purple Twilight", "The Duplicate Man", and "The Probe". Bears appear near the conclusion of second season episodes "Counterweight", "The Invisible Enemy", and "Cold Hands, Warm Heart".)

The show's first season had distinctive music by Dominic Frontiere, who doubled as Production Executive; the second season featured music by Harry Lubin, with a variation of his Fear theme for One Step Beyond being heard over the end titles.